Getting to the Heart (or Lack There of) of the Matter
by Invisible Observer 813
Summary: Magic doesn't always effect those with a heart the same it does those that are missing it. Not many would know. It would take someone with experience to see how magic effected someone differently and realize what it meant. A story about Killian's lost heart and fixing all that only Gold and Killian knew what was going on during 4a.
1. Formally Heartless to Heartless

Hi all. This has a spoiler for 4x08 the 2 hour special and it has references to OUATiW so if you haven't watched that yet it has some spoilers from the show. Canon wise, this is set after Killian lost his heart. In the story the Snow Queen's curse has already been released and defeated. I do not own OUAT, OUATiW, or the ability to write characters that aren't OOC. I have no beta so all of the mistakes are mine. ' ' are thoughts

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><p>Will's POV<p>

'I really need to get back to Wonderland. Besides that being where Ana is, this town is out of its bloody mind. I don't remember it being this crazy when the white rabbit grabbed me to save Alice and her genie, or ex-genie now. I'm just lucky I wasn't around that many people the last few days or know enough people to be the subject of any of their emotions. Everyone was turning on each other. Well almost everyone at least. From what I heard there was a certain pirate that didn't start attacking everyone he met.' I thought as I entered Grannies hoping to have my lunch and dinner in peace for once. 'I owe Robin for leaving him and his Merry Men at the mercy of Maleficent but still, it's not like I know what's going on around here anymore.' When I entered the dinner, luckily missing one good doing outlaw, I noticed another outlaw in the corner.

"Hey mate, I think you owe me lunch and dinner after I kept quiet about who gave me that bloody black eye a while back," I said as I slipped into the both with Killian and signaled to Ruby for my usual. 'This is as good a time as any to test out a theory of mine.'

"What is it you want Will? And what makes you think I'm picking up your tab?" Killian shot back.

"Well I plan on sharing a couple of experiences from my time in Wonderland and I figured we would see from there. I hear you've been to Wonderland, haven't you?" At this time Ruby dropped off my drink and I started adding a little extra to make it last me my two meals.

"Aye, I have. But what make you think I care about your experiences from Wonderland? Though I do like your idea of lunch and dinner." Killian replied looking at me like I was a Bandersnatch that decided to join him for dinner.

"Trust me I think these might be of some use to you. You see mate, when me and a pal of mine, Alice, were in Wonderland we ended up in the Black Forest, which isn't as dark as one would think once you turn off your lights, where they had trees that sprayed a mist on you that made you so happy you never wanted to leave. Of course this is bloody Wonderland so it's not as nice as it seems. If you want to stay enough you turn into a tree. Alice had this genie that she was trying to save, True Love and all that, but the forest made her forget. I had to remind her and convince her she wanted to leave."

"Didn't need any convincing yourself did you mate?" Killian interrupted.

"No, I didn't you see I was missing something very important. Something that without, the forest had no effect on me. We did manage to escape. We even found her, her genie and freed him by accidentally turning me into a bloody genie in his place but it all got figured out. Before it got figured out, though, the Jabberwocky escaped. You know what a Jabberwocky is right?"

"Aye, I've heard of what a nasty piece of work it is."

"Yeah. Well I was put face to face with one. She tried to get in my head and read my fears but bloody well couldn't. Turns out the Jabberwocky needs someone with a heart if they are going to read their emotions." At the mention of a heart Killian straightened in his seat more and seemed to be paying more attention. "Apparently, whether the bloody magic is working with positive or negative emotions the person needs a heart to be effected. The heart holds the emotions and if the person has no heart the magic has no place to attack is my theory. If I were to guess, if someone didn't have a heart during the chaos that was the last few days they wouldn't have been effected either." At this time Ruby dropped off the check. I reached for a dollar in my pocket to pay when Killian's response distracted me.

"I imagine you're right mate. One needed a heart to be effected by The Snow Queen's curse. Put the money away. I believe the deal was the tab for the two stories though I think one story covered the tab. Let me give you some advice to cover the second story. Crocodiles can and will hold grudges for centuries. You may have decided to give your heart to a Swan but a Crocodile can and will just take it if they have a use for it. You might want to tell the sheriff this stuff. It might even buy you some good grace down the line mate."

"I'll do that. Talk to you latter mate." I said as I stood up and headed out the door. 'I guess I was right. Someone did steal his heart. Bloody hell now I'm going to have to actually, willingly step foot in the sheriff's station. Oh well. I hope they will know what he meant about a Crocodile and a Swan because I have no bloody idea.'

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><p>Will has made me curious so I binged watched the 13 episodes of OUATiW before the 2 hour special and it got me thinking about this. I highly doubt that Killian is going to be immune to the curse but I do think that he should be due to the evidence in OUATiW. And I had them talking in riddles on purpose. I figure that Rumple has forbidden telling anyone that he has Killian's heart and has forbidden Killian talking about it. I figured this was there was enough wiggle room he might get away since he was just confirming what someone figured out in a normal conversation. I hope it was clear enough. Please leave a review telling me how I can improve my writing style and if you think that Killian not having a heart should have a chance at protecting him from this curse even if you think the show won't go that way.<p> 


	2. I'm Not Bloody Crazy

Hello everyone. I was planning on making this a one shot to get a theory that I knew the show wasn't going to do out of my head (the theory is about the curse not Will being the one that figures it out) but I received a review saying they liked it and it got my brain thinking about a second chapter so here it is. Any chapter after this won't come out until sometime after the next episode. Again I don't own OUAT or OUATiW and I make no money off this. Please watch the official shows. They are great. This story was inspired by the 2 hour special and the theory was formed from OUATiW so there are spoilers from both if you haven't seen it. I do not have a beta either so any and all mistakes are my own. Please review so I can improve and maybe learn to fight the dreaded writing illness known as OOC.

" "- talking

' '-thinking

Until then, enjoy.

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><p>Will's POV<p>

'Blood brilliant. How am I going to tell the sheriff that her boyfriend is missing his heart? Based off the date I crashed and the jail time afterwards, they are quite serious. I'm pretty certain she kept me there longer than necessary out of spite. Maybe I'll go to the mayor instead. She did pardon me, but she's probably found out I lied about the breakout. Maybe the other sheriff. That'll be a bloody blast. Instead of telling one sheriff her boyfriend is missing a heart I get to tell the other that his daughter's boyfriend is missing a heart. I can't believe I'm thinking this but I miss the simplicity of Wonderland. At least there I knew what crazy stuff was happening. Wait is that Robin. Wonderful.' Will thought as he headed to the sheriff's station.

"Hey friend. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Really, and what might that be?" Robin replied cautiously.

"I have some information that the sheriffs in this town might want to know and I figure they might take to it a bit better if it comes from someone they know better. You seem to actually like these sheriffs so I thought you could tell them."

"Depends on the information. I'm not agreeing to anything until I know everything." Robin said giving me his full attention.

"A crocodile stole Captain Hook's heart." I told Robin with a straight face.

"Who knocked you on the head and how hard were you hit," Robin replied with a look of complete bewilderment.

"I'm serious mate. It probably wasn't an actual crocodile, I'm hoping the sheriffs will know what he meant by that, but the pirate with a hook for a hand, Captain Hook, has had his heart stolen."

"What makes you think that nonsense?"

"I just had a nice coded conversation with him at Granny's and I've spent many years heartless. I know the signs of magic that targets emotions when used on someone without a heart and they match the tales around him the last few days during the Snow Queen's curse."

"You're absolutely serious aren't you?" Robin asked. I just nodded as my answer. "In that case we should head to the sheriff's station and let them know."

"Great. Let me know how it all works out," I said as I started to turn and leave.

"Oh no. Wait right there. I said we. We are going to go to the sheriff's station and I'm going to sit back in a spot that is not in any way in the middle of a path between them and you and you are going to explain Killian being heartless and whatever you mean by a crocodile. I agree, they need to know but I'm not going to be the one in their sites when they find out." Robin said as he grabbed by shoulders, turned me around and started to push me towards the sheriff's station.

"Now cheer up. It won't be that bad. You're acting like I'm taking you to your own execution." Robin told me as he continued to push me towards our destination after seeing my face.

"I've been walked to my own execution before, a beheading actually. I preferred that feeling to this one," I told Robin with as much sarcasm in my voice as I could.

"One of these days we are going to have to sit down for a pint and we are going to catch up on what happened after we split paths but until then you have a story to tell the local sheriffs," Robin replied with an exasperated smirk on his face.

"Bloody Hell!"

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><p>"Hello David, my friend here has some information for you and your family. Where is your daughter?" Robin said once we entered the sheriff's station.<p>

"She's out with her mother at the moment and what is your friend doing here? I thought he would avoid us after he broke out. Bed's still there if you want to stay again Will." David responded.

"Sorry mate, I believe your wife, the mayor, pardoned me so I'm technically a free man, but that's beside the point right now. You have a problem but before I go any farther I do have a request for you. Any way you can put your gun, knives, and any other weapons that you may use out of your arm reach. Just to be on the safe side." As I said this I noticed that Robin was slowly backing out of the line of fire and David was steadily growing more stone faced.

"How about you start talking now or I handcuff you to something so you can't dodge if there is something in arm's reach and you start talking mate," David replied putting an emphasis on the word mate.

"Okay first off you're not using mate right and second someone took Hook's heart and he says it was a crocodile. Whatever that bloody means," I told him quickly.

"Are you off your rocker?" David exclaimed.

"Why does everyone think that when I tell them this," I replied at the same time I heard Robin mutter, "Why would he be on a rocker in the first place?"

"It's an expression," Robin I said over my shoulder before I turned back to David.

"You're telling me that Killian got his HEART STOLEN," David repeated.

Before I could respond the door open and Regina walked in.

"I don't know who you are talking about but I haven't stolen anyone's heart since Neverland so if it was resent it wasn't me. Now, whose heart are we talking about?" Regina asked as she walked to stand over by Robin.

"Will here is under the impression that Killian's heart is missing. Also, what are you doing here Regina? You're not usually here unless we are having a meeting," David asked clearly getting annoyed with the mess that was forming.

"Robin texted me. He said that I would probably be needed here and it sounds like he might be right. Now, Will, why do you think Killian's heart has been taken," Regina responded with an air of irritation.

"Wait, since when does Robin have a phone?" I responded instead. About a week ago I know he didn't have a phone since we had to use mine to contact Regina about the page. I don't even know if he knew what one was.

"I got him one after he had to use yours so he could contact me directly if he needed something instead of running around trying to find me. Now I'll ask one more time. Why do you think Killian's heart has been stolen?" Regina asked with an edge of anger in her voice.

"Because of the Snow Queen's bloody curse. It affected him the same way similar types of magic affect those without hearts," I replied.

"What do you know about magic and hearts at that level?" Regina asked in a condescending tone.

"Because milady," as I gave a mock bowed at the milady portion purposely ignoring the glare Robin sent me for the trouble, "you may be more experienced with magic and taking people's hearts, but I've spent years without mine and have dealt with magic that targeted emotions. Without my heart the magic didn't affect me at all. Now my heart was in a different location than the magic so the magic didn't touch it. There is a chance that, since his heart was in the same location as the magic, it still got hit but without a heart emotions are dulled so even if the magic was able to touch the heart it would be so diluted that it never affected him. That is why Hook was able to not attack everyone he saw and had a beef with during the Snow Queen's curse. I also talked to him at Granny's and I hinted at the idea and he confirmed it."

"So Killian told you he didn't have a heart?" David asked as it seemed he was getting control of the situation.

"Not in so many words. We talked more in riddle that way if whoever has his heart asked he can claim that he doesn't know of anyone that knows but he did confirm it mate," I told David trying to put as much sincerity in my voice as possible and hide the irritation to make this go faster.

"Wonderful. The puppy pirate has his heart taken. Does your daughter know yet?" Regina asked.

"We haven't told her yet so as long as she hasn't figured it out on her own she doesn't know," David responded in a wary tone.

"Tell me Will, while you were out figuring this all out did you happen to get the name on who did this?" Regina asked tiredly.

"Depends. Do any of you know of any crocodiles that have held a centuries old vendetta against him that could bloody well do this because that's who Hook said stole it," I noticed that Regina and David tensed up at the word crocodile. "By your reaction I'm guessing yes. Who is it?"

"Gold though you may know him better as either Rumpelstiltskin or the Dark One," David responded after rubbing a hand over his face and through his hair.

"Bloody Hell. I'm not going to be the one to tell the rest of your group about this. How did Hook even get on Gold's radar let alone stay on it for centuries. He doesn't even have any magic that the Dark One would want. On second thought don't tell me. I don't want to know," I said as I sank into my seat wondering what I just got myself into and if there was any way I could get out of it and go back to focusing solely on getting back to Wonderland and Anastasia.

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><p>There we go, chapter 2. I know that Will mentioned the crocodile when he first told David this but I'm going with David was still processing the missing heart portion. Please leave a review to let me know what you think and I'll 'see' you all after the next episode. And for all of you in the USA happy Thanksgiving and for those of you that are not Happy Holidays.<p> 


	3. Brain vs Heart

Hey everyone. We lost a lot of good people after the last episode, thought that has been true for a multitude of episodes now (about the whole series). Sorry this one is short. I'll have another chapter up in a day or two. For the sake of Killian being alive without outside help we're going to say that the fairies didn't give Gold as much magic as he thought and he wasn't able to get Henry in the chaos so Gold still needs Killian. Again I don't own OUAT or its characters. I have no beta so all mistakes are my .

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><p>Emma's POV<p>

"Hey mom, have you noticed anything off about Killian lately?" I asked my mom as we were at the library looking through some tombs trying to figure out what happened to all of the fairies. We looked with Regina at Granny's to find any evidence we could a couple of days ago and then Regina went to her vault to see what she could find. Mom volunteered to help me because she is mayor and she said it was her job to keep the people safe. Over the last couple of days we have found nothing.

"Hook? Well everyone's been acting weird lately sweetheart. Even those that avoided their friends and family are still acting weird due to the Snow Queen's curse that you broke. You have to remember he wasn't always as nice as he is now so, even if he avoided acting on the curse, it probably reminded him of the darker version of himself that he has been trying to move past. Why do you ask?" mom said as she was looking at some books on disappearing magic.

"It's not just the curse. He has been acting strange ever since I saw him at the manor. He didn't even join us for the fireworks show and you know him. He would have loved it and the kiss he gave me when he saw me at the manor and at the station before were off. I don't know how to explain it, but it was like he was trying to put everything in those kisses and yet it didn't have as much as it usually does. Am I being paranoid?"

"Now that you mention it, the kiss at the station kind of reminded me of the kiss your father gave me when we were on Neverland when he and Hook were off to get the sexton or the water in reality, just a bit less desperate," mom said with a thoughtful look on her face. My own expression must have dropped because the next moment her face brightened up in the next second and continued on. "But don't worry I'm certain I only thought that because the curse was coming. Anyway, Hook loves you. If he was in any trouble he'd tell you."

"You're right mom. I'm probably worrying about nothing. Even with everything that's been going on I'm certain he would tell me if he was in trouble and he's a survivor. I'm worrying about nothing," I said more to convince myself than because I actually believed it. By the look on mom's face she doesn't buy that I believe it either. No matter how often I repeat that Killian is fine in my head, my heart keeps telling me that it is not true.

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><p>I'll update the story again in a day or two but I wanted to give Emma a bit of time with some false hope that Killian is right as rain. I am excited for the next episode though. We get more Will and learn a bit about Kristoff. I choose Will to find out about Killian in this story because Will was my inspiration that Killian wouldn't be affected by the curse but now I'm thinking Will might actually help put the pieces together. Let's face it. In the past, Killian has been in the Charming family's blind spot. Even if they notice something is wrong there are usually bigger problems at the moment that they trust Killian to take care of his problem or go up and ask them for help if he can't. They might say that directly to him (minus the bigger problems part) sometimes but still. Now that is just me. Others might rightfully see it different and can say so if they please.<p>

Anyway. Please leave a review telling me what you think and have a great day.


	4. Plans for Skinning

Hello everyone. Here is the next chapter and it's slightly longer than the last so I'm hopping this makes up for the shorter chapter. Again, I don't own OUAT or it's characters. I still don't have a beta so all mistakes are my own. Without further adieu, enjoy.

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><p>Will's POV<p>

"Hey dad, anything interesting happen while I was out?" I heard Emma yell from another room of the station.

"Well mates, I think this is my cue to leave. I'm certain she would prefer to hear it from someone she trusts and cares for. I vote the other sheriff slash Savior's father while I start walking far away from this." I say as I start looking for an exit that does not involve passing Emma when I feel a pair of hands land on my shoulder and then David spoke up which confirmed the hands were David's.

"Oh no mate." 'There he goes again, saying mate sharply though not as sharply as the first time. I wonder if he knows how to say mate right.' "You came in with info that my mate" 'I guess he can say mate correctly.' "is missing a heart with a clue on who has it. I think you should stay here. You know, just in case we need more information from you." David said as he shook my shoulders.

"Admit it, you mainly want cannon fodder from your daughter," I said over my shoulder.

"I admit nothing," David said before he raised his voice and said, "In here Emma."

"Hey dad, whoa we have a full house. Regina you're here. Did you find out anything from your vault about the fairies missing?" Emma asked as her and Snow came in.

"Not yet, but Emma there is something that Will has to tell you," Regina says sending a smile my way. I send a quick glare to Regina before Emma's and Snow's eyes turn to me.

"What does Will know about the fairies that could help us?" Emma asked clearly confused.

"Two conditions. You tell me I'm crazy or attack me, I'm walking," I say in a resigned voice.

"Okay, what's going on?" Emma asked getting aggregated.

"I talked to Hook, Killian, whatever he goes by in this place, at Granny's earlier today. Very long story short. A crocodile, they say that means the Dark One, stole his heart. I know it is true, someone can tell the next person that needs told, I am not crazy, and no killing the messenger," I told her quickly with my voice getting highly annoyed with how many times I've had to say it.

"HIS HEART. That means it was impossible for him to tell me. I knew there was something wrong with him. His kisses, looks everything. Everything seemed wrong but I ignored it. I shouldn't have ignored it. I should have looked until I found out what happened."

"Bloody hell, I'm not crazy. Wait, what? You believe me?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, now if you excuse me, as in the immortal word's of my boyfriend, I've got a crocodile to skin." Emma said as she began to stomp away.

"Emma, wait. I agree that Gold needs to be stopped from whatever he's doing but we need to go in with a plan." David said as he stopped his daughter.

"I can't wait. Every second that Gold has Killian's heart is another second he has a chance to crush it. I can't let him do that," Emma said getting more aggravated by the second.

"I know Emma. But Will found out Killian's heart was missing due to the Snow Queen's curse which was days ago which means Gold has had Killian's heart for days. If Gold just wanted to kill Killian he would be dead by now, but if you just go barging in then Gold will more than likely crush his heart then and there." David said reasonably.

"You're father is right Emma. You said so yourself that Hook has been acting weird since the manor so you know its true. You just need to have hope, stop, and think if you want to help Hook," The mayor told her daughter soothingly helping her husband calm her daughter down.

"Then what do you suggest?" Emma asked.

"Maybe get him talking to someone that has no strong ties to the Captain so he doesn't suspect anything and when he is away from everything that could hold Killian's heart freeze Gold. One of you can freeze him right?" Robin spoke up.

"Emma should be able to considering how motivated she is maybe even everything but his head so he can still tell us where the heart is, but who could we get to talk to Gold. It can't be anyone the Charmings are friends with, Gold might still suspect them and that is most of the town." Regina responded turning away from everyone to look at Robin.

"I think my friend here could help with that," Robin said as he turned to me. "Will turned back up about the same time as the Snow Queen and has stayed pretty under the radar. Plus, I'm pretty sure that the only well-known interaction between you guys and him is negative." At this I groaned.

"Sounds great, we go now. Will, you're in." Emma said determined as she turned to me with fire in her eyes.

"That didn't sound like a question but sure, fine. That's just what I always wanted, to get on the bad side of the Dark bloody One. Whatever gets me out of this bloody situation faster. What do I have to do?" I asked in resignation.

"You're right about one thing, he is about the be the Dark bloody one and on your question, do you have anything missing?" Emma asked with the scariest smile on her face that I've ever seen.

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><p>There we go. Another chapter down. Don't worry, we're getting to Gold next chapter. I'll probably add two more characters to the character list when I decide which two. Please review what you think about this and the story and have a good day.<p> 


	5. A Dream or Reality

Hi everyone. Here is to another OUAT episode survived with our hearts only slightly more broken and fixed than when we entered it. For what was suppose to be a one-shot, I've got the main idea for 4 more chapters and that is assuming that no other theories hit me that will fit in this story. My finals are over so I should have more time for writing and I hope to have another chapter up before the next episode and this story done before New Years Eve (Dec 31) (assuming no more ideas enter). We have finally reached Gold. I'm sorry for his OOC traits. For those of you that read this, I hope it doesn't disappoint. Remember, I don't own in any way OUAT or OUATiW and I have no beta so all mistakes are my own, so feel free to point them out. Enjoy.

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><p>Will's POV<p>

I entered the store and heard the bell above me ring.

"Hello. What can I help you with today?" a man matching the description the Charming family gave me asked with a predatory smile as I came up to the counter. 'I can't believe I'm actually going to do this. Why would anyone make a deal with this guy when he wears a smile like that? That person would have to be desperate.'

"Yeah. Hi. I'm Will Scarlet. I'm looking for this dress that belongs to my wife back at Wonderland. It's just a simple pink dress. I'm certain that it came in with the curse that brought us here and I was told that most things that were lost came here. Have you seen anything like that or anything else that looks like it came from Wonderland?"

"I haven't seen the dress but there are a few things that seem to be from Wonderland. Come this way dearie and we can see if you recognize any of them," Gold told me as he lead me to another part of the store. When we passed by an open area I heard the door slam open and felt a wave of magic hit me.

Belle's POV

I had just entered the back when I heard the bell up front chime but I knew Rumple was up there to take care of it. A couple of minutes later I heard the door slam open and Rumple demand calmly, "What is the meaning of this? Why have you barged into my shop and attacked me?" at the same time a stranger yelled, "Bloody hell, you were supposed to freeze him not the both of us."

"Sorry," Emma said before I heard someone moving. 'Maybe she just meant to get the stranger and accidentally hit Rumple also.' I thought before I heard Emma continue to say, "And Gold, you know why we're here. Now where is it?" While this was happening I heard the bell chime again while multiple footsteps entered the shop.

"I have no idea what you are talking about and if you won't say then I will have to insist that you leave my store immediately." Gold said as I started to walk to the front of the store to figure out what was going on.

"Look here Gold. We know you have Killian's heart. We don't know why you took it but we know you have it and we aren't going anywhere until we get it back. Now where is it?" I heard David growl and I stopped in my tracks. 'Rumple. You couldn't have. I have your dagger so even if you wanted to, you couldn't have taken Hook's heart.' I thought until I remembered that Gold hasn't given me back the dagger since I gave it back to him so I didn't summon him while under the Snow Queen's curse and hurt him. I then remember what my reflection told me. I never had the real one. 'I told him to get off me several times before we teleported back to the shop while holding the dagger and he didn't. I really didn't have the real one.' I thought before I walked into the front room where I saw Robin, Regina, and Snow along with the others I heard.

"Rumple, is that true. Did you take Hook's heart?" I asked Rumple in a steady voice that surprised even myself. I felt everyone's eyes turn towards me when they heard me speak but I could only look at my husband's.

"Of course not Belle," Rumple told me.

"Remember Gold, all we would have to do is have Emma or myself shove our hand into Hook's chest to confirm it isn't there. After that, there isn't a long list of people that could take it. Emma gets excluded on principle and I don't have nearly the history with him to risk everything on something so stupid, but you do. Now tell the truth and tell us where it is so I can put one more item down in the reformed villain column and go work on other items," Regina said with a forced bored tone that covered a bit of anger.

"Magic intact, town line, Emma and Storybrooke safe as long as they don't interfere, rest of world not so much, fail to kidnap a boy, my heart wasn't in it," I started mumbling before I said louder, "I thought I dreamt it all. I thought that was a dream caused by the curse but it wasn't, was it Rumple? You and Hook were talking. You wanted him to get Henry and then you were going to kill him and take us out of Storybrooke, weren't you?" I asked with tears in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. Not yet anyways.

"Belle, you have to understand. I could finally cleave myself of the dagger and make sure no one could control me and make me threaten those that I cared for like Zelena did. So I could keep the power without being used. I did it for us," Rumple said with eyes that implored me to understand, but I lost it at the word power as another vague memory that I put down to the curse came to mind _'__You could have her forever or all the power in the world. It's your choice.'_

"No. You just wanted more power. How did you think you could keep Henry and I in the dark if you did start trying to take over the world or whatever it was that you were planning to do? How could you think I would be okay with that? Well now you have to choose. Power or love? Tell them where Hook's heart is," I demanded in as steely of a tone as I could manage while fighting back tears.

"Okay. His heart is in the safe behind the counter under a cloaking spell," Rumple said sounding as defeated as I've ever heard him. The second those words were out of his mouth Emma and David rushed to the safe. Emma didn't even bother asking for the combination she just opened it with her magic, undid the cloaking spell, and grabbed a box with a red glow emanating from it. Carefully she opened it and a hug smile crossed both of their lips. She carefully picked up the heart and brought it close to her lips before she yelled, "Get your ass to the sheriff's station now" and continued in a softer, loving voice, "my goof."

Afterwards she put it back into the box with as much care as she took it out and it looked like they were about to turn around and head back to the sheriff's station when something caught David's eye. He took something out of the safe and looked at it for a second before he turned to me and said, "I think this belongs to you. Be very careful with it," and he handed me the dagger. The second I touched it I noticed a subtle difference that I couldn't explain and told David thank you before they all left the shop, leaving Rumple and me alone.

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><p>There another chapter down. Please leave a review with what you think or what I need to improve on. I'll 'see' you guys later and I hope you all have a nice day.<p> 


	6. Returning what was Taken

Hello everyone. Sorry this took longer than expected to get out. School work came up despite having already finished my finals. Now to the story. Remember I don't own OUAT or OUATiW and I have no beta so all mistakes are my own.

"" spoken

' ' thoughts

Enjoy.

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><p>Emma's POV<p>

We were getting close to the station so I moved back to where Regina was in our group.

"Regina, is there anything special I need to do to return his heart or do I just bring it to roughly where it goes and push it in?"

"Just push it in. It's going to hurt a little no matter how you do it, so the best thing to do is to make it quick," Regina responded with her patented mayor smile on her face. She may not be mayor anymore but she still uses it when she's teaching or telling someone what to do.

"Okay thanks." At that moment a thought entered my mind and I got Killian's heart out for a second and whispered, "Keep your eyes closed until I tell you different or you gain the free will to open them on your own." With that I put the heart back in the box and signaled to everyone to be quiet as we entered the station and signaled everyone in the station to be quiet also.

Killian's POV (a few minutes earlier)

I reluctantly entered the sheriff's station worrying about why the Crocodile wants me here. 'I hope that Will did tell someone about our conversation earlier today and that Gold doesn't know yet. Anna is here. Good, that just means that he knew where she was and sent me here to keep an eye on her.' I thought as I entered the main room of the station and saw a newspaper on my way. 'Wait, isn't that the newspaper with the Crocodile's and Belle's wedding announcement and more important picture in it? He said to keep her away from the shop but maybe if she sees the picture she'll blurt something out and everyone might figure out why he is doing this.' With this in mind I pick up the newspaper and open it so the photo is facing Anna.

Once I had the newspaper open I looked around and notice Henry, Elsa, and Kristoff were here also.

"Why hello everyone. What are you doing here and where are the sheriffs of this town?" I asked confused. 'Surely if Will told them already, they either wouldn't be here or they would be acting nervous and there is no way either Regina or Emma would willing let Henry near me while I'm like this? But if they didn't know there is no reason at least one law officer wouldn't be here during a time of theoretical peace.'

"Well, we were supposed to meat Emma and Regina here 15 minutes ago to talk about what we all found out about the fairies and on a ride home for the three of us but the only one here was Henry. I guess they lost track of time," Anna replied with a perplexed look on her face.

"My mom wasn't at her vault so I figured I'd see if she was here and wanted to get some diner at Granny's," Henry responded afterwards.

"Aye. I'm sure they're be here soon. Are you having any luck on either front?"

"None so far. Who knew it was so hard to travel between realms?" Anna replied dejectedly.

"Don't give up hope yet. If I've learned anything from these hero types it is that as long as you are a hero or are successfully working at being a hero and don't give up hope nothing is impossible," I told Anna trying to give her a comforting smile. At that moment my eyes closed on their own accord and I couldn't get them to open again. 'What the bloody hell is that crocodile thinking? I can't very well keep an eye on Anna if I can't open my eyes to see her.'

"Killian, why do you have your eyes closed?" I heard Henry asked obviously confused.

"I don't know mate," 'That's weird, I thought for sure I would have to come up with an excuse but I didn't'

The next think I know I feel a pain in my chest. For half a second I thought the Crocodile was crushing my heart early but then I felt the guilt of what I did to the fairies and the Apprentice along with all of the lying I have been doing hit me like a ton of bricks. "What just h.." I started to ask before a pair of lips I would know anywhere crashed into mine and I responded to the kiss automatically.

As we pulled away for much needed air I heard David mumble in the background that he didn't need to see that. I opened my eyes just in time to see Snow elbow David for that comment before I let my whole world become focused on the woman in my arms that choose that moment to start talking.

"Much better. Your kisses are weird when your heartless. We have a few new rules now pal. Rule one: you are no longer allowed to say goodbye to me. You can use 'see you soon' or something similar but not goodbye or bye. Goodbye is only allowed to be used if someone is blackmailing you in a way that others will be hurt if you told. Got it?"

"Aye but what ju…" I started before Emma continued.

"Rule number two, and I think you'll like this one, I can kiss you whenever you want. If you refuse a kiss I'm checking you for a heart. If you pass that test then I'm allowed to check you for any magic or curse that might be on you. If you pass that then I'm taking you to Regina to check for anything I missed. More rules can and will be added as I see fit. Understood?"

"Why love, you can kiss me whenever you want. You'll find that I am very willing, but what just happened?" I asked with a mixture of flirting and confusion as I brought my non hooked hand to my throat. That's when I felt it. My pulse and when I looked up I noticed that Will was here also.

"You did it. You got it back, but how?" I asked in amazement.

"Will told us what happened so we sent him into Gold's shop to distract him and get him away from everything and froze him. Belle came in soon after and remembered some bits of conversations between the two of you that she thought was a dream. She made him tell her where it was and we got your heart and the dagger from his safe. We gave Belle the dagger and came back here," Emma said with a look of anger in her eyes. At that moment I remembered all that I've done.

"And you bloody well should know that I'm never doing that again and you owe me big time," Will added from where he stood. I decided I'd deal with that in a bit but for now I have more important things I needed to do so I turned to look directly at Emma.

"Thank you and I'm sorry," I told her.

"He kept you alive which means he was doing something. How about you tell us what it was and we can work on making sure his main plan doesn't come to fruition together." Emma said with a small smile on her face.

'Together. That one word brings me so much hope. Even when Henry said it under the curse it filled me with happiness. I just hope she feels the same way once she learns the whole truth.' With that in mind I open my mouth to explain everything that's happened.

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><p>Alright. I'm stopping there for now. The next chapter will have Killian explaining everything and I'll go from there. Good luck to everyone seeing how we are about to go on an unwanted break here in a bit.<p>

Thanks for reading and please leave a review with your thoughts.


	7. Truths and Clues

Hi everyone. Sorry it has been so long. To make up for that this chapter is longer than the others. I don't own OUAT or anything you recognize. I also have no beta so if you point out my mistakes I'll fix them. Any other constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged.

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><p>Anna's POV<p>

While Emma and Hook were talking I decided to avert my eyes in an attempt to give them privacy and I saw the paper that Hook was holding earlier where I noticed a picture on it. I leapt at the newspaper and read the headline that was attached to it.

"Why did Belle marry Rumpelstiltskin? Wait, this says his name is Gold. Isn't that the name you guys just said had pirate's here heart? Why are any of you dealing with this guy? He's trouble." At this I turned towards Elsa. "Please tell me you stayed away from this evil, evil, EVIL wizard?" It was at that moment that I realized that my outburst caused everyone to focus on me. Even Emma and Hook managed to take their eyes off each other.

"Wait, Belle admitted to knowing you but Gold said he never met you before. Actually, never mind that. How do you know Gold in the first place? I didn't think he had any dealings in Arendelle, though he did have your sister in an urn for roughly 30 years so I guess we shouldn't me too surprised." David asked surprised.

"Well, I kind of got his name from your mother when I went looking for information on why my parents went to the Enchanted Forest. And let's just say we didn't get along." I said nervously before I processed the last bit that he said. "WAIT A SECOND. Rumpelstiltskin had my sister during those 30 years we were frozen," I shrieked before I turned to Elsa. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you in any way? I'm sorry. I thought that I had it so he couldn't get to us again when I grabbed that stupid hat."

"Calm down Anna. I'm find. I was in the urn the whole time so the only time I really talked to him was when Killian took me to him so I could find out who had the same powers as me. I was completely safe… from him at least," Elsa said with her hands on mine to calm me down. When she finished though I picked up the paper and stormed over to Hook.

"You took. My sister. To see that. Bad guy." I said while whacking him on the shoulder with the paper annoyed. I heard Emma mutter under her breath that she was still annoyed with him on that and Elsa mutter that Killian wasn't that bad.

"Okay. I deserve that, even if not for that reason. But I promise your sister was not in any danger from him then," Hook told me with his hand and hook up in a surrendering motion. "But it is funny that you mention the hat because that is what this is all about and we both know what he planned to do with that hat."

"Oh," Is all I could say to that.

"Okay, but maybe we should find out why this evil wizard, who you weren't willing to trust to find Elsa back in the Enchanted Forest, plans to do with a hat and a pirate's heart," Kristoff butted in trying to get us back on topic.

"Oh well about that, part of the deal to get the info I wanted was that I give a mysterious liquid to this random old guy. I didn't do it so he thought I turned away from my 'inner darkness' and was going to use me to open this hat so he could have more power. I didn't even think about it so that didn't work and he said that he was going to keep me there and I'd never see Elsa or Kristoff again unless I killed him but didn't. He managed to obtain the power of me turning away from my 'inner darkness' and he used it on his dagger to open the hat but the old man, that turned into a mouse, bit him and I picked up his dagger and found out he had to obey me and he wanted the hat so he didn't have to obey anyone with the dagger again, so I ordered him to send me back home with the hat and he couldn't hurt me or anyone I know. I guess it didn't really work." I explained while moving around to expel my nervous energy.

"THAT WIZARD DID WHAT TO YOU?!" Elsa exclaimed with her own form of righteous queenly fury. "I am going down there right now and freezing him where he stands," she continued as she turned and started to storm towards the exit. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of freezing temperature at the moment.

"Woah, woah, woah. Let's calm down and take deep breaths. Belle has his dagger so he can't do anything right now but even with Anna's explanation we are a bit lost so maybe we can sit down and have Killian start from the beginning," David said as he got in between Elsa and the exit and calmed her down.

"I agree with you mate. It's time I was straight with you all but it's not pretty. I truly am sorry," Hook said as Elsa reluctantly sat with me with a small glare still on her face.

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><p>Killian's POV<p>

Once everyone was seated I started at the beginning determined to say everything. "I've been hunting the Dark One for two or three centuries now, it's been so long and going through so many realms that it has become hard to keep track. During that time I learned much about that Crocodile including that he would never give up power, especially over himself. Not even to the one he loves. I knew that the dagger was a fake so when Maid Marian started to freeze I took Elsa to see him and I asked her to stay back while I made a deal, which was more blackmail than deal but she didn't know that. I told him that I wouldn't say anything about the dagger if he helped us find the Snow Queen. After that I got greedy. I black mailed him again to get my hand. He implanted into my mind that the hand would cause me to act more like the man I was when I lost it and that wasn't a good man. I didn't believe him at first but then with what happened at the restaurant with Will and punching him afterwards for trying to break into the library, I started to believe Gold. Sorry about that Will." I said as I looked up to apologize to Will and noticed that everyone was giving me their complete attention.

"No problem mate. Finish the story I somehow got wrapped up in, teach the princely sheriff how to say mate correctly all of the time and not some of the time and realize I owe you a punch in the face and we'll call it even. That sound good?" Will replied rolling his eyes. I gave him a weird look at the mate comment before I remembered the good prince's evolution on using the word mate with me.

"Sounds fair though I think the mate thing is dependent on how much he likes you so I make no promises on that," I shot back with a small smile before my face fell remembering that I had to still tell them the harder part.

"After all that I went back to see him and he said he wouldn't remove the hand unless I helped him with something. He convinced me that talking to anyone would make me lose everyone's trust, support, everything and like an idiot I listened to him. Even if what he said was true, I would have still been better off telling you guys. Unfortunately, unlike the fair princess over there I was not strong enough to turn away from my inner darkness," I nodded my head towards Anna when I referenced her and caught David's and Emma's eyes. Emma's was blank but I couldn't tell if I saw disappointment in David's eyes or if I was projecting that onto him.

"We went to this guy's house, the Sorcerer's Apprentice house and he sucked the guy into the hat Anna mentioned earlier."

"Not the Sorcerer's Apprentice. He was such a nice guy. I never liked this Mr. Gold guy. It seems like he is still using love as a weapon. He is a horrible, horrible guy," Anna interrupted with her face twisted in disgust.

"Aye he is lass. Aye he is. Afterwards, he took the footage and manipulated it to make it look like I worked alone and used it to keep me under his thumb. After your magic went on the fritz and you said Gold was going to take your magic away I went to his shop to check something. When I realized he had it set to meet you in a secluded area I knew he was going to suck you in that hat, magic and all. I tried to call you but you never answered and he got your phone before you could check your messages. So I went to try and stop him or you."

"Wait. He was going to take my daughter away from me. NO. That is not allowed. Next time I see him I'm shoving my arrows in any and all places I can find." Snow screeched with fire in her eyes. David seemed to have similar feelings but was calm enough to know this wasn't the time.

"I agree honey, but we first have to figure out what we missed while we were focused on the Snow Queen. You and I both know we shouldn't go after the Dark One without knowing all of the information. Continue," David said when he got in front of his wife to calm her down before turning towards me.

"When I got to the manor Gold used his magic to tie me to a fence so I could watch you get sucked in like I had to watch him kill Milah. Luckily Elsa got to you first and convinced you not to go through with that. I will forever be thankful for that love," at that I turned to Elsa and gave her my sincerest small smile before I continued.

"After it was apparent that Emma didn't get sucked into the hat I taunted him about failing when he revealed that it wasn't going to be a complete fail. Apparently he left the map with the manor marked in plain sight for me to find him. I should have realized it was a trap," I said with a self-deprecating laugh. "I mean leaving a map for a pirate that leads exactly to where the pirate wanted right in the open. The only way he could have made it more obvious is if he used an x instead of a circle to mark the spot. He said that, along with magical power to fuel the hat he also needed one other ingredient to complete the spell and cleave himself from the dagger. He needed the heart of someone that knew him before he became the dark one. As you can imagine, the number of people that fit that bill is extremely short. Taking into account I am probably the only person in Storybrooke, maybe even the only person alive, which fits that bill and our mutual hatred for each other, he took mine. Afterwards he released me and had me get the hat with orders to not mention that he had it or his plan to anyone. So, for roughly the next 48 hours I was running around town as his puppet," I couldn't help the obvious disdain in my voice or on my face at the word puppet.

"The only good thing about all of this is that I was unaffected by the Snow Queen's curse as Will has probably mentioned. Before her curse could hit, though, he had me collect the fairies into the hat. It served two purposes. It sabotaged the cure so he could tell Belle and Henry that Storybrooke fell and he could only get the two of them out and so they would be less likely to question why they weren't home and it gave him enough power to use the hat. He was just waiting for the stars to align correctly to complete the spell."

"Wait a second. What does Henry have to do with any of this," Regina demanded as she moved closer to her son. Seeing this I moved closer to David. 'He might be just as mad but I at least know what he might do to me when he finds out I was sent to kidnap his grandson. I have no idea what Regina might do.'

"Gold wanted his family with him in the rest of the world. He was going to take both Belle and Henry with him. He gave me a potion to undo the spell you cast on the room he was in and used my heart to order me to bring Henry to him. I didn't really try all that hard and luckily Henry is a resourceful lad and was able to escape." Remembering that time brought a smile to my face as I remembered just how much Henry was like both his mothers.

"Henry, why didn't you say the pirate was able to get by my protection spell?" Regina asked nicely. Honestly curious about the subject.

"It's Killian. I didn't find it too odd that he was able to get where he shouldn't have been able to enter and he was acting normal so I didn't think it was a big deal," Henry answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You didn't find it weird that Killian wasn't affect by the curse," Elsa asked confused. "I mean he is a pirate with no powers and if he had been affected by the curse in the past and it was well known enough for you not to be worried then surely the fairies would have used him for the cure."

"No, nothing like that. It's just that despite being within the curse radius when the two curses that brought most everyone to this town he avoided both curses but still managed to get here and is one of the few that has managed to leave and return to this town in this realm with no trouble. And that list gets a lot shorter if you count people that were born and raised in another realm. It just seems that if a curse will hit everyone, I'm not that surprised if it misses him." Henry explained matter-of-factly.

"Okay. I think we can deal with that bit later. Killian, is that everything?" Emma asked me.

"Aye. I think that's everything. I truly am sorry, but I'll understand if you don't forgive me." I finished.

"Of course we forgive you. You got stuck in a corner in your own problem and we may have jumped down your throat more than helped in the past when we found out you got yourself stuck and like Anna said, he uses love as a weapon. Can't guarantee that everyone will forgive you but we do." Emma said as she gestured to herself and her parents. "Just tell us next time you are in trouble and we'll help you. Trust is a two way street. I trust you to help with my problems. You have to trust me with yours okay?"

"Aye. Okay love. Thank you," I said feeling a weight leave my chest for the first time since after our date. "But I, I mean we if you are willing to help, need to find a way to free those stuck in the hat," I said with hope in my eyes.

"Yes. **We** will help," Emma replied with a small smile on her face making sure to emphasize the we.

"Yeah. We just need to figure out who would be best to work on a magical hat," David continued with a roll of his eyes and a grin.

"Oi. I'm here so I take it your little family feud of a curse that affected those not in the family also hit Wonderland. Do you know if you got the Mad Hatter in that curse?" Will piped up.

"Yeah. He tried killing us a time or two. But he didn't seem too keen to help or able to do much with his hat," Snow replied slightly crossed.

"Well, me and the Hatter go way back and even if we didn't, I did a big favor to a good friend of his that he owes so he will at least try." Will reasoned.

"Okay, that sounds like a plan. I'll go check out the manor Gold set the trap in. I think I remember Belle mentioning them honeymooning there and it being unclaimed. She thought that as mayor, I should know in case someone that was hit with my curse but not Regina's needed a home. She mentioned that Gold was acting odd for a second but put it down to postwedding jitters. Considering everything, I think we should check the place out. Killian, why don't you check out the house the Apprentice was living in and see if that has any clues. Everyone else can choose who to go with," Snow took charge of the situation and we had a working plan to fix this mess.

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><p>Alright. Another chapter down. I'll update again later but I might not be able to finish before 2015 like I hoped. Please let me know which other two people should be on the list and any thoughts or constructive criticism you have. Also let me know if anyone seems OOC. Enjoy your holidays and the upcoming new year.<p> 


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